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RistoThere are reasons why our office is in central Florida. Water skiing isn't just our hobby. It's our job.
That enviable fact of life was never clearer than it was during a recent string of days when we gathered a team of professional and nationally ranked skiers to help us with our annual ski tests. In other words, they discovered what we mean by the phrase, “All in a day's work” – for more than a week straight.
There were nearly 40 slaloms, but to be honest, we didn't just ski them and toss them back into their boxes. We tested, analyzed and scrutinized each one. Then we gave them grades, which you'll see on the following pages, to give you a complete report card on the slalom class of 2000. (If this many slaloms sounds like a lot to ingest, just remember that the entire menu is even bigger. The results of our tests of world-class slaloms will appear in the April issue of WaterSki.)
You've probably been hearing some good things about the high-performance shaped skis on the market, which makes your buying decision even more difficult. If you're at all skeptical about the whole shaped-ski phenomena, relax.
No longer should shaped skis be considered your typical yahoo slalom rides. We found that the new high-performance shaped rides will encompass a wide category of skiing abilities. The slightly larger surface area still gives the beginning and intermediate-level skiers great stability, but there are high-performance bevels to allow shortline slalom at speeds up to 34 mph.
If you happen to ski at speeds greater than 34 mph, you might look into the advanced traditional category. We believe the advanced traditional and world-class rides of today are lighter, faster, and are more user friendly than they've ever been. They allow the advanced slalom skier to get from side to side in the slalom course easier and faster than was previously possible.
In recent years we came away from our ski tests thinking the ski companies had reached their limits, that they couldn't make our skis any better. We underestimated them. Thanks to new advances in carbon graphite and ski lay-up, our team had to extend the standards of each ski category during these tests. It was just part of our job. Now it's time for you to do like we did and go to work. Start rippin'.
Before You Buy
With all the different types of slaloms that are currently available, how do you know what's right for you? First, you need to make an honest evaluation of your current skills and decide what you want to accomplish. For example, if you free ski in the open water and mostly ride on a flat ski, then why struggle with an advanced ride when you could be cruising around the lake in comfort on a wide ride? Or, if you're just learning the course you might think twice before trying to cut on a pencil-thin slalom when shaped rides are available.
We created four classifications of slaloms to make the comparisons of test data fair and easy — Recreational Wide Rides, Shaped Rides, Traditional Rides and Advanced Traditional Rides. Find where you honestly belong, then start shopping.
